the bbq trail in lockhart, texas

Lockhart.

About 45 minutes outside Austin, Texas is a tiny little Wild West frontier looking town. If you're into that, you've found your El Dorado. As part of the Chisholm trail, where folks herded cattle from Texas to the railroads of Kansas, one could easily envision cowboys walking in and out of the buildings around the Lockhart square, which is anchored by a Moorish-like architecture of the courthouse.

The Lockhart Courthouse.

The Wild, Wild West.

But, Lockhart is known for something else entirely despite the quaint buildings that evoke a bygone era: BBQ. Oh yeah!

It is unsurprising that the town has a concentration of BBQ restaurants. Remember, this place was part of the Chisholm trail. And, it seems inevitable to me that where herds of cattle came through, some of them had to be eaten. 

On a recent business trip to Austin, Mr. Sazy Rock and I decided to research the BBQ offerings in Lockhart. There, we ate and compared the goodies at Kreuz's, Smitty's and Black's. Who won?

Kreuz 

Kreuz.

Located farthest from the main square (although I found all the BBQ joints walkable), we stopped first at Kreuz's to sample beef ribs and brisket. 

Kreuz's BBQ pit.

The ribs were gargantuan. The meat was firm (not the overcooked "falling-off-the-bone" variety) and juicy. Sadly, the brisket were dry. 

Kreuz's beef ribs and brisket.

Smitty's 

Smitty's.

A few minutes after our disappointing brisket at Kreuz's, we were off to Smitty's, located just off the main square. Legend has it that the same family once owned Kreuz's and Smitty's but split up over some disagreement. I felt no sense of betrayal walking in to Smitty's after enjoying my beef ribs at Kreuz's.

Smitty's BBQ pit.

At Smitty's we ordered pork ribs and brisket. I am not ashamed to say that I demolished most of the ribs and tucked in to the better part of the brisket. The ribs were sweet, smoky, juicy and just plain tasty. Similarly, the brisket was juicy and smoky and came with the not-healthy-but-still-tasty burnt ends.

Brisket and pork ribs at Smitty's.

We loved Smitty's over Kreuz's.

Black's 

Black;s.

Although we've already eaten our fair share of meat and I could foresee meat sweats in the immediate future, we trundled on to Black's, located between Smitty's and Kreuz's.

Black's offerings.

We ordered links - an original and a jalapeno - pork ribs and fatty brisket, which they prefer to call "moist brisket" instead of what it really is -- fatty. We totally over-ordered considering we already had scarfed down heap loads of meat in less than an hour.

Links, pork ribs and brisket at Blacks.

The links were superb. The casings had a nice snap and juices oozed freely when I stuck my fork in them. The meat inside the original was sweet, and the one inside the japaleno was cheese-y and spicy. I demolished both of them.

The pork ribs were similarly tasty but did not have the same juiciness and smokiness that the Smitty's pork ribs had.

The brisket blew us (and Keuz's and Smitty's) out of the water. It was, indeed, moist. It was also full of flavor and the fat just melted in my mouth.


By this time, my stomach could not conceivably eat any more. I could also feel my arteries clogging up. Conceding defeat, we drove off of Lockhart happy and full of meat dreams. So, who won? Undoubtedly, Black's did.

Just a tip: When comparing and contrasting restaurant offerings in a short period of time, avoid sodas and side dishes. Just stick to the meat and water, so you can have a fighting chance of trying more of the important stuff.


Where have you tasted the best BBQ in your life?